GRACE A large prosperous downtown church had three mission churches under its care that it had started. On the first Sunday of the New Year all the members of the mission churches came to the…
Sermon Illustrations
FUZZY THINKING One of the cartoon strips I often use to illustrate sermons is Cathy by Cathy Guisewite. I found one recently that was a perfect example of the great deal of totally fuzzy thinking…
THE SURRENDERED WILL Laid on thine altar, O my Lord, Divine, Accept my gift this day, for Jesus' sake I have no jewels to adorn thy shrine, No world-famed sacrifice to make; And here I…
THE TONGUE James 1 "The boneless tongue, so small and weak, Can crush and kill," declares the Greek./"The tongue destroys a greater horde," The Turk asserts, "Than does the sword." The Persian proverb wisely saith,…
SILENCE A tribute was once paid to a great linguist, that he not only had learned seven languages well -- but he had also learned when to be silent in all seven. Proverbs 10:19; 21:23;…
ASPECTS OF AGING One of the most disturbing aspects of aging is the growing inability to recall vitally important information -- such as the gross national product of Liberia, the Greek alphabet, and where you…
CAREFUL OF YOUR INTERPRETATION A cowboy was riding across the prairie and he came to a an Indian who was lying on the ground with his ear to a wagon track. The following conversation then…
PLANT A SMALL SEED OF KINDNESS AND WATCH IT GROW It was a stormy night at a small hotel in Philadelphia. An elderly man and woman approached the registration desk and asked for a room,…
HASTE MAKES WASTE The man was desperately late for an important appointment as he drove into the basement parking garage of the large office building. He jumped out of his four door sedan, then opened…
COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN A mature looking lady had an appointment with a marriage counsellor, and told him flat out: "I would like to divorce my husband." To this, the counselor replied, "Well, do you have any…
FLEXIBILITY A man stopped to chat with a farmer who was erecting a new building. He asked, "What are you putting up?" The farmer replied, "Well, if I can rent it, it's a rustic cottage.…
TOO BUSY? DISTRACTED When we attempt to do too many things at once we often get rattled and accomplish even less. The story is told of young Charles Darwin in Great Lives, Great Deeds that…
CHANGE AND PERSPECTIVE At a college reunion, thirty years after graduation, one man said to another, "See that fellow over there? Well -- he's gotten so bald and so fat he didn't even recognize me!"
MORE NARROW VISION In the year 1870 the Methodists in Indiana were having their annual conference. At one point, the president of the college where they were meeting said, "I think we live in a…
A NOVEL PROGRAM FOR KIDS The Parent- Teacher group was involved in a serious discussion about what the school's students could do after dismissal each day. Among the many suggestions made were: playgrounds, youth huts,…
JARGON Teachers never seem to put down kids anymore. A young lad had a notation on his report card that he was very adept in the creative use of visual aids for learning. His father…
OLDIES BUT GOODIES As I have read all of the stories that have come in for our recent contest, I have been impressed with the many old chestnuts that are still going around that I…
PRIORITIES G. K. Chesterton and several other literary figures were asked one evening what book they would prefer to have with them if stranded on a desert isle. One writer said without hesitation: The complete…
EFFORT Remember, if everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane. When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.
BLAME Some people find fault as if it were buried treasure.
